Episode 4
He slowly opened his mouth to speak.
"Actually..."
"You know the Celia Plains, right?"
"I do, I do. It's a bit of a journey from here, isn't it? You mentioned you went there earlier."
Their hesitation didn't last long. The two knights glanced around the hallway and leaned in closer to me.
In games, NPCs are inherently supposed to have loose lips. How else would they provide the protagonist with various information and quests? As I eagerly played along, they seemed encouraged and began to spill everything.
"Our Lord had gone there to hunt down a monster."
"But it seems the beast spat out poison just as it collapsed."
"...Poison, you say?"
"It's so incredibly potent that even a man as resolute as him hasn't been able to regain consciousness."
I nodded vigorously, matching the rhythm of their story. Poison. If it was poison, an antidote should do the trick. I'd just need to fetch the most expensive and effective one I had.
"But... what possessed him to challenge such a monster?"
I had already gathered enough useful information, but the knights showed no signs of stopping.
"I wouldn't have dared."
"It was three times the size of a normal horse and had wings like an eagle!"
"Not to mention, it was spewing fire everywhere. The whole area nearly turned into a sea of flames."
"?!"
Crucial pieces of information that I couldn't ignore began pouring into my ears.
"By any chance, did that monster..."
As I spoke up without realizing it, the two knights' gazes snapped to me.
"It didn't happen to have... huge horns, did it?"
When I used my hands to mimic long, goat-like horns, their eyes widened.
"Huh? Have you seen it?"
"How did you know?"
"...!!"
Oh, my god. My jaw dropped.
That monster isn't supposed to spawn in the Celia Plains!
---
When I came to my senses, I was already rummaging through the storage shelves. I couldn't even quite remember how I had gotten there.
The information the knights had given me neatly pieced itself together in my head. A giant horse-like figure, eagle wings, horns... and a monster that breathes fire.
"..."
That was one of the field bosses. But it definitely wasn't a mob that belonged in the Celia Plains. It was an event monster that spawned further east, closer to the village. It didn't even roam around under normal circumstances.
'On top of that, it's a notoriously tricky bastard.'
Its attack patterns were complex, but more importantly, hunting that monster required a specific preparation.
An antidote. And not just any standard antidote, but a special one. You couldn't cure this monster's poison unless you used an antidote obtained as a quest reward from a specific NPC. Most players who challenged it unprepared died at least once.
"Why on earth did he have to go up against that thing?"
A merely potent antidote could delay the poison from spreading, but it couldn't cure it entirely.
Clink!
I grabbed a few of the most expensive and powerful antidotes we had in the inn and turned around. These were premium items I didn't even put on display for regular customers.
"Ah, but wait..."
I stopped after taking only a few steps. What if this was part of the game's event? What if this was a crucial event triggered from Derek's perspective? No, it had to be an important event. There was no other explanation.
As the price for recklessly challenging a boss monster, he would lose an arm and be forced to wear a mask due to the poison spreading across his face. And then, he would be despised by his own family.
"And in the end..."
His final moments remained vivid in my memory.
With a battered and broken body, Derek meekly accepts the protagonist's sword, as if he had resigned himself to his fate. His death was pitiful, and the narrative that followed wasn't exactly great, either.
"..."
If I act now, the game's story might change. Derek played a significant role in this game. His trajectory wasn't supposed to be altered.
"..."
I turned my back again and stared at the storage. It would be so easy to just say, I'm sorry, but I don't have any useful potions. No one would suspect a thing if an inn in such a small village lacked high-grade potions.
"But..."
My frozen feet refused to move.
But.
But...
Aren't I an NPC in this game now too? Doesn't that mean my actions could also naturally weave into the story? My brain started spinning these ridiculous, bizarre justifications.
"..."
I shook my head vigorously. The game's plot, or my conscience? Which one should I prioritize?
My chaotic thoughts eventually led me to a single conclusion. Resolving myself, I put it to the test.
"Status Window!"
But nothing happened.
"...Status."
Same result.
"Shtatuuuush!"
Even rolling my tongue with a ridiculously exaggerated accent did nothing. If this were truly just a game, my status window should have popped up. It should have displayed my level, HP, and skills. But no matter how I called out, there was no response. If that was the case, then this...
Clink. The bottles I held in my arms bumped against each other.
In this place, character stats don't appear, skills aren't visible, and there are no HP bars.
'Should I call this reality, then?'
It might be inside a game, but regardless, it was reality to me right now.
'To hell with the story! It's not like I'm the protagonist anyway!'
What mattered most was the life of the person right in front of me. I sprinted straight for the second floor of the inn.
---
"Hey, you're back!"
"Did you find anything useful?"
The two knights had been looking around anxiously, clearly worried that I wouldn't return. When our eyes met, their faces lit up as if they had just seen their savior.
Anyone would think I was the healer.
"I brought a few good antidotes for now. They should help him hold on until the healer arrives."
"R-really? Are you sure?"
"Thank you! We will absolutely relay this favor to the young mas... I mean, to him!"
"...Well, I appreciate that."
I couldn't quite bring myself to mention that I had already received gold coins from them.
'But that was for the inn fees from last time, so it's fine, right?'
"All that's left is for him to actually drink the potion."
"R-right..."
The two men suddenly broke out in cold sweats as they looked at each other. They seemed to be staring in silence, but their eyes were darting back and forth rapidly. In other words, they were pushing the job onto each other, silently screaming, 'You do it.'
"..."
"..."
Sparks seemed to fly from their silent argument. Perhaps they wanted to avoid taking responsibility in case something went wrong while administering the potion. They didn't seem to realize that they were already in the same boat as me the moment they accepted it.
'And they call themselves knights.'
They were far too different from the knights I knew. A sigh rose to my throat, but I managed to swallow it down. Sighing would only provoke them. Composing my expression, I lifted the corners of my mouth into a good-natured smile.
"Well then, I'll give it a try."
"What?"
"A-are you sure?"
The knights' eyes sparkled.
"Hmm. B-but will it be alright?"
"Do you have any experience administering potions?"
"Exactly. Especially since the patient is in a delirious state."
"..."
Their eyes were shining with expectation, yet the words coming out of their mouths were full of skepticism. Was it due to their tiny remaining shred of knightly pride? They probably just wanted the reassurance that they weren't leaving their master's life in the hands of a complete amateur.
"It's fine. I've done it from time to time."
'Though it was mostly just forcing hangover cures down the throats of drunk patrons.'
At that, the two knights stepped aside and opened the door. Faint smiles of relief spread across their faces.
"That's a relief, then."
"P-please, hurry!"
"Leave it to me."
Stepping into the room, I carefully closed the door behind me. I had worried the knights might find this suspicious, but surprisingly, they didn't stop me.
'Are they just too relieved to care?'
Either way, it worked in my favor. Now, even if I had to use somewhat rough methods, there was no one around to see it.
I slowly dragged a small table over to the side of the bed. After placing the bottles on it, I leaned in closer to check on Derek's condition.
"Ngh..."
Derek let out a low groan but showed no other signs of movement.
'Alright, first... let's take off the hood.'
To feed a potion to an unconscious person, it was best to tilt their head up slightly, right? It could be dangerous if it went down the wrong pipe, so I had to be as careful as possible.
I reached out for the hood that the knights had pulled down so deeply over his head.
'Wow... Why am I so nervous?'
It was ridiculous how my fingertips trembled as they gripped the fabric. I scolded myself for being so tense, but my heart still pounded loudly in my chest.
'Well, I guess it makes sense?'
This was Derek's bare face, something no player had ever seen before. I had caught a glimpse when he was first carried in, but given the chaotic situation, it hadn't really registered. But now, it was about to be perfectly revealed right in front of my eyes.
Gulp. I swallowed hard without realizing it.
"..."
With a trembling hand, I carefully pulled the hood back.
What appeared first was dark black hair. Though it clung to his face with cold sweat, it still looked incredibly soft. It was a pitch-black hue, darker and more beautiful than anything I had seen in my past life.
Through his hair, I could see his eyes squeezed shut, as if enduring immense pain. The sharp line dropping from his high nose bridge to his sleek jawline captivated my gaze.
It was a face perfectly described by the word 'beautiful.' But not to the point of mistaking his gender. He was undeniably male, yet words like 'beautiful' and 'pretty' came naturally to mind.
That bizarre combination had a strange, magnetic pull.
"...Ah."
And I was no exception to its pull. I stared blankly at his face before barely snapping back to reality.
Even in a situation like this, it felt as though a halo was radiating from him. If this were my previous world, wouldn't he have been a celebrity? And probably a world-famous one at that...
'Ah, this is no time for this!'
Even as I dawdled, Derek's HP was continually draining. An illusion of an invisible health bar instantly dropping by half flashed before my eyes.
Reeling in my drifting thoughts, I slid my hand behind his head.
"...!"
Immediately, a soft sensation brushed against my hand. It felt as though top-grade mink fur was slipping through my fingers.
'I've never touched mink fur before, but I imagine it feels like this, right?'
I lifted his head slightly.
"Ugh..."
Derek, seemingly still unconscious, let his head loll exactly as I guided it. The dead weight of an unresponsive person is heavy. Especially when it's their head.
'Ugh.'
Supporting his head with a trembling hand, I grabbed the bottle with the other. I awkwardly popped off the stopper one-handed, causing the green liquid inside to slosh wildly.
'Alright, nice and slow...'
I brought the lip of the bottle close to Derek's slightly parted mouth.
"Ngh."
As the cold glass touched his lips, he turned his head away in obvious discomfort.
"Ah!"
Because of that, the small amount of potion I had managed to pour simply trickled down his lips. Not a single drop seemed to have made it into his mouth.
"...What a waste."
Do you know how precious this potion is? Adjusting to the angle he had turned his head, I let a few more drops fall.
"Ugh..."
"..."
But once again, nothing went into his mouth. Did even a single drop make it in?
In situations like this, there aren't many methods left to use.
"Haa."
If he didn't drink the potion, Derek might die. Or, even if he survived, he would be left with severe lingering side effects.
I had no choice.
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